How America will break South Africa: the full story of Ramaphosa, the ANC, MTN, Iran, Hamas, Zondo and the collapse of a failed State

For three decades, South Africa’s ruling party lived off borrowed glory. The African National Congress (ANC) wrapped itself in the halo of liberation, Mandela’s name its shield, and the world — out of guilt and sentiment — allowed it.

Even as corruption hollowed out Eskom and Transnet, even as rolling blackouts destroyed industry, even as violence became endemic, the ANC claimed moral authority. Western leaders, desperate to maintain stability in Southern Africa, played along.

But history is merciless. And when Washington — the world’s financial superpower — decides to act, the consequences are crushing.

In 2025, South Africa finds itself in the crosshairs. Not for ideology, not for race politics, but for something far more devastating:

Financing of terrorism through MTN’s Taliban and Iran dealings.
Corruption and state capture as laid bare by the Zondo Commission.
Dollar-based scandals like Phala Phala that fall under U.S. law.
Foreign policy alignment with Hamas and Iran after October 7, 2023.
Military solidarity with Tehran by South Africa’s army chief.
Trade retaliation through tariffs.

This is not speculation. These are facts on record in courts, congressional bills, and company disclosures. And they all point to one outcome: America is preparing to break South Africa piece by piece, starting with its leadership and ending with its economy.

🔴 CHAPTER 1: THE BIRTH OF MTN AND THE POLITICS OF BUSINESS

When the ANC came to power in 1994, it needed symbols of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). The idea was to undo apartheid’s exclusion. In practice, it became a patronage machine where ANC-linked elites gained access to lucrative deals.

MTN was born that year. Within a decade, it was Africa’s largest mobile operator, stretching into Nigeria, Uganda, the Middle East. It was celebrated as proof that the new South Africa could build global companies. But MTN’s growth was inseparable from political connections.

Cyril Ramaphosa, who had left politics in the late 1990s to enter business, was one of its key faces. Through his company Shanduka, he invested in telecoms and mining. In 2002, he became non-executive chairman of MTN. For eleven years, until 2013, he oversaw its most ambitious expansion.

At the time, he was hailed as the face of empowerment — a billionaire businessman forged in the furnace of liberation politics. Today, those years are the basis for U.S. allegations of terror financing.

🔴 CHAPTER 2: AFGHANISTAN — PAYING THE TALIBAN

Operating in Afghanistan meant operating in a battlefield. MTN’s cell towers were attacked. Staff were threatened. The Taliban held sway in large parts of the country.

U.S. lawsuits now allege that MTN’s solution was simple: pay the Taliban for protection.

According to filings in Zubay v. MTN Group Ltd, MTN made millions of dollars in “protection payments.”

These payments allegedly gave the Taliban resources to strengthen their grip — and kill American soldiers.

The case was filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 1992.

The ATA allows victims of terrorism to sue anyone who provided “material support.” In 2021, a U.S. District Court found the case “plausibly stated” and allowed it to proceed to discovery. That is no small hurdle: it means the court found the claims legally credible.

For MTN, this threatens billions in damages. For Ramaphosa, it is personal. He was chairman during the period. Under the Caremark duty of oversight, directors have a legal duty to act on red flags. Ignorance is not a defence.

One civil strand goes further: Ramaphosa himself is personally named as a defendant, facing a $400 million damages claim from families of slain U.S. servicemen. For a sitting South African president to be sued in America for financing terrorism is unprecedented.

🔴 CHAPTER 3: IRAN — THE IRANCELL BRIBERY SCANDAL

MTN’s second great gamble was Iran. In 2005, it acquired a 49% stake in Irancell, the country’s second mobile operator.

The deal is poisoned. Turkish rival Turkcell insists it had already secured the licence, only to be pushed aside when MTN offered bribes and political favours. Turkcell is suing MTN for $4.2 billion, and the case is before South Africa’s Constitutional Court.

The political cost is worse. Irancell is tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organisation. MTN’s stake meant it was directly in business with Iran’s terror apparatus.

Again, this happened under Ramaphosa’s chairmanship. The man now presented abroad as a reformist was enriching himself while his company partnered with America’s sworn enemy.

🔴 CHAPTER 4: THE DOJ GRAND JURY — AMERICA’S FIRST HAMMER

On 18 August 2025, MTN confirmed in its interim financial results that it is under investigation by a U.S. Department of Justice grand jury.

The probe covers its Afghanistan operations (now sold for $35m) and its Irancell stake.
MTN is “cooperating voluntarily.”
CEO Ralph Mupita admitted “key government officials are well briefed.”

A grand jury is not a trial. It decides whether there is probable cause for indictments. If indictments come, MTN could face criminal trial in the U.S. — and its former directors, including Ramaphosa, could be drawn in.

This is the U.S. moving from civil suits to the possibility of criminal prosecution for terror financing.

🔴 CHAPTER 5: OCTOBER 7, HAMAS, AND SOUTH AFRICA’S CHOICE

The Hamas massacre of 7 October 2023, in which over 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered, reset global politics. For Washington, Hamas is now as toxic as al-Qaeda.

South Africa chose the other side.
The ANC filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
ANC leaders hosted Hamas delegations in Pretoria.
Ramaphosa’s rhetoric echoed Iran’s positions.

Combined with MTN’s Taliban and Iran scandals, Washington no longer views Pretoria as non-aligned. It views it as aligned with Hamas and Iran.

🔴 CHAPTER 6: THE ZONDO REPORT — FROM LOCAL FAILURE TO GLOBAL WEAPON

At home, the Zondo Commission (2018–2022) was seen as toothless. It exposed state capture under Zuma, named Gwede Mantashe, Ace Magashule, and others, and documented billions looted. But prosecutions stalled.

In Washington, Zondo is a weapon.

In 2025, the U.S.–South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act cleared the House Foreign Affairs Committee (34–16). Once passed, it empowers the U.S. to sanction South African officials implicated in corruption and human rights abuses.

Sanctions include:

Visa bans on officials and families.
Freezing of U.S. and EU assets.
Blocking from SWIFT transactions.
Exclusion from international contracts.
Joshua Meservey of the Hudson Institute put it bluntly:

“The Zondo Commission named names. You could almost throw a dart, and whichever ANC official you hit, you could sanction.”

Civil groups AfriForum and Solidariteit lobbied hard in Washington, ensuring sanctions target the ANC elite, not ordinary citizens.

Ramaphosa cannot escape. He admitted he knew of state capture as Deputy President but remained silent. His Phala Phala scandal, where undeclared U.S. dollars were hidden in furniture, looks in American law like money laundering under the Patriot Act and Bank Secrecy Act. Because it involved dollars, U.S. jurisdiction applies.

🔴 CHAPTER 7: THE SANDF IN IRAN — A DIPLOMATIC NIGHTMARE

In 2025, South Africa’s military chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya, visited Iran and declared the two nations were “joined at the hip.”

For Washington, this was intolerable. If authorised, Pretoria openly sided with a terror sponsor. If unauthorised, Ramaphosa had lost control of his military.

The response was swift: a 30% tariff on South African exports. Cars, citrus, wine — all hit. For an economy already staggering, this is lethal.

🔴 CHAPTER 8: BRICS — THE FALSE ESCAPE

Ramaphosa insists BRICS will shield South Africa from Western pressure. But BRICS is no escape.
China’s banks obey U.S. sanctions to keep dollar access.
Russia is crippled despite boasting of alternatives.
Iran survives sanctions, but strangled.
South Africa’s elites cannot escape. Their families live in Western capitals. Their wealth is in dollars. Washington controls the system.

🔴 CHAPTER 9: HOW U.S. SANCTIONS ACTUALLY WORK

America’s power lies in finance. Its sanctions are devastating:
Global Magnitsky Act: freezes assets, bans visas for corrupt officials.
Section 7031(c): automatic bans for corrupt officials and their families.
OFAC blacklists: global banks comply instantly.
Executive Order 13224: assets tied to terror blocked without warning.
For ANC elites, this means:
Frozen villas in Dubai.
Cancelled accounts in London.
Children locked out of Harvard and Oxford.
No safe haven.

For South Africa, it means investment drying up, exports collapsing, and isolation.

🔴 CHAPTER 10: THE TIMELINE OF COLLAPSE

1994: ANC takes power; MTN founded.
2002–2013: Ramaphosa chairs MTN.
2005: Irancell deal; Turkcell bribery claim.
2011–2019: Taliban payments alleged.
2018–2022: Zondo Commission exposes capture.
2020: Phala Phala scandal erupts.
2021: Ramaphosa filmed praying in a mosque.
7 Oct 2023: Hamas massacre; South Africa sides with Hamas.
2024: Bilateral Relations Review Act drafted.
2025: DOJ grand jury probe; $400m claim vs Ramaphosa; SANDF chief in Iran; 30% tariffs imposed.

🔴 CHAPTER 11: OUTCOMES — HOW AMERICA WILL BREAK SOUTH AFRICA

The picture is now clear. America is squeezing South Africa on all fronts:
Legal: MTN under grand jury probe; Ramaphosa facing $400m liability.
Political: ANC leaders sanctioned under Zondo.
Economic: 30% tariffs strangling exports, with more to come.
Diplomatic: isolation, bans, reputational collapse.

For Ramaphosa, the reformist mask is gone. He may end as the president who turned South Africa into a pariah.

For the ANC, its liberation legacy is dead. Abroad, it is seen as corrupt and terror-linked.
For South Africa, the consequences are severe: jobs lost, investment fleeing, poverty deepening.

🔴 CONCLUSION: GAME OVER

The ANC thought it could loot forever. Ramaphosa thought his billions and silence would shield him. MTN thought scandals would fade.

But Washington has decided otherwise.

Taliban payments.
Iran bribery.
Hamas solidarity.
Phala Phala dollars.
SANDF in Tehran.
Zondo’s corruption evidence.
America has the tools. And it is using them.

🔴 Game Over for Ramaphosa. Game Over for the ANC. And unless South Africa changes course, America will break the nation piece by piece. 🔴

By Paul Hattingh

22 August 2025